Contributed By Theresa Tan
It sounds like an interesting enough premise: aliens landing in Arizona in 1873 and facing off with cowboys.
A lone cowboy (Daniel Craig) who cannot remember who he is stumbles into the town of Absolution, wearing a strange device around his wrist that works like a handgun. Before long, he discovers he is Jake Lonergan, a wanted gunslinger who stole gold bullion from the richest (and meanest) man in Absolution: Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). When Dolarhyde’s spoilt brat son Percy (Paul Dano) is captured by the aliens together with half the town, the colonel and Jake forge an uncomfortable alliance to save the captives. Their journey to find the aliens takes them through scuffles with Jake’s old gang of bandits, and a group of native Indians who help Jake regain his memory of having been captured by the aliens and escaped, but not before he watched his woman, Alice, burned to ashes.
Trailing Jake is a mysterious woman, Ella (Olivia Wilde) who turns out to be from another planet that the aliens have destroyed. Together they embark on a quest to find the alien ship, free the people, and destroy the aliens, of course.
Craig’s flinty face and complete lack of humor makes this movie utterly ponderous to watch—even more so when you consider that Robert Downey Jr. was the first choice for this Jon Favreau vehicle. Ford is the show’s saving grace, displaying flashes of his Indiana Jones panache even at the age of 69.
Buy the ticket if you’re desperate to catch a movie this weekend, but if not, just wait and watch it on Mio for S$3.99.
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